Where’s a cop when you need one?

A row of cars parked in the middle of a high-traffic bike lane on Boyer St.

It’s bad enough when a car ignores the signs and painted lines and decides to park in the middle of a bicycle lane – actually, straddling both bicycle lanes – but it’s even more annoying when other drivers follow the lead and park there too. Here we see at least half a dozen cars and vans parked on Boyer St., which is part of the Route Verte.

There were some mitigating circumstances here. There was construction in this area and the bikes were being detoured on to St. Hubert St. That also meant those green poles that normally separate the lane from the roadway were removed.

Still, there was no indication that the lane had been cancelled or that parking was allowed on it. So I wondered, where’s a cop – or a parking enforcement officer – when you need one?

A parking enforcement officer surveys the scene and chats with an errant driver

A police officer on his bike leaves the scene without giving tickets or ensuring the vehicles are moved.

Oh, there they are. They didn’t end up giving any tickets that I could see. The drivers agreed to move their cars, and the two officers left while most were still parked in the lane.

Still, it felt good to know that occasionally the authorities do notice these things.

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4 thoughts on “Where’s a cop when you need one?”

I can’t tell from the pictures — is the bike lane clearly marked (besides the honking thick line there)? Are there little white bikes painted on the street or signs on the sidewalk? Not really condoning this heinous behaviour … just curious.

They really need to put in those ‘poles’ at tight intervals, it will make it better for everyone. Cars will stay out of bike lanes and won’t be able to parkthere. In the winter, the poles can be removed for street cleaning.

I noticed that there is some construction going on the other side of the street, is it possible they were giving those folks (who are most likely residence) a break and letting them park on that side? (just an assumption here). I think the lack of tickets (ESPECIALLY WHEN A PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WAS THERE!!!), means they were making a conscious exception in this case.